Midori
by thejammys
Summary: Gaara's greenhouse is a space of many firsts for Gaara and Lee, even before they started dating.
1. The Greenhouse

A/N: I selected 'gardening' as my prompt for gaaleefest17. While the original layout for this story was a very long one-shot, I was ultimately dissatisfied with the flow of things, and decided this was a good opportunity for me to try a style of posting outside my usual comfort zone for fic.

oooooo

The greenhouse was Baki's idea.

He watched a twelve-year-old Gaara, with the wounds from his battle with Naruto still healing, try to talk to his brother and sister only to lose his patience immediately. They didn't know how to talk to Gaara, they were still scared. Gaara certainly didn't know how to interact with them - and didn't have the discipline to allow for trial and error.

Rather than linger in the company of his siblings, Gaara took his fuming self and went outside. He walked as far away from their home, from them, as he was able to before he started crying.

Baki followed, partly out of concern for Suna and what an irritated Gaara might do to it, and partly out of the unquenchable piece of him that regarded these siblings as his own kids and wanted to protect them.

He kept his distance, guarding from afar, and watched Gaara sit down on the ground behind some particularly tall cacti. Whether Gaara was intentionally hiding, or this was a convenient side effect of the plants, Baki wasn't sure. They'd walked only twenty minutes or so, but they were far enough from the main streets and bustle of Suna that no one else was around to see the young demon of the Sand crying.

Gaara crying wasn't as rare as some people believed. If they paid attention, it was clear that this was an emotionally unstable child, and sometimes his confused, overwhelming emotions manifested in tears.

Temari and Kankuro had seen this before, but they erred on the side of letting Gaara cry it out on his own.

That's what Baki did now. He watched Gaara wipe his eyes, glare intensely at the ground, and then cry more.

Baki took a sweep of his surroundings, to ensure that civilians remained far away.

He did this for a while; just scanning the area and monitoring Gaara in his peripheral vision. When he looked back at Gaara, he was relieved to see that the boy had stopped crying and instead seemed to be interested in one of the cacti shielding him.

Baki waited for the interest to pass, and for the crying to start again, or even for some angry pre-pubescent yelling. But it never came. Instead, Gaara reached out and gingerly touched the skin of the cactus.

It couldn't hurt Gaara, the sand would protect his skin from being pricked, but his fingers moved so gently.

He watched Gaara turn his head, to look at the rest of the tiny cactus garden he'd hidden in. The more he looked, the more even his breathing became.

When his eyes landed on a smaller cactus, not immediately resembling one of the larger shield cacti he was first attracted to, Gaara got up on his knees so he could get closer to it. With the same soft touch, he reached out and felt the tiny plant with the fingertips of his right hand. It must have felt unlike what Gaara was expecting because he frowned, and then reached out to touch the tall cactus with his left hand.

It was almost like watching a baby learn something for the first time, except Gaara was twelve and often scary. Here, though, with the cacti, he looked peaceful. Inquisitive and perplexed by the differences in the plants - but peaceful.

Gaara inspected the cacti, with dry eyes, and a calm heartbeat for nearly two hours before Baki got the idea.

He started building the next day.

oooooo

"How do you remember each of their names?" Lee asked as he bent over to inspect one of the cacti in Gaara's greenhouse more closely.

Lee was only in Suna for the day. Kakashi asked him to deliver a handful of documents to Gaara as a quick mission. The actual handing over of the documents only took a few minutes, which left Lee with the remainder of the day to explore Suna and spend time with Gaara.

Gaara was pleased with the Hokage's choice of messenger. He liked Lee - a lot. Every time that he saw Lee now Gaara felt like he was better understanding what it meant to like someone as 'more than a friend'. While Lee didn't know it, Gaara demonstrated this affection and gratitude of friendship by showing Lee into the greenhouse and introducing him to Gaara's beloved plants.

Not many people were allowed in here.

In the nearly five years since Baki had first constructed this greenhouse for Gaara, it had flourished. It was filled with rows and rows of cacti, succulents, and a handful of miscellaneous flowers Gaara had received as gifts. Gaara took great pains to keep each of his plants healthy and strong, and had enormous pride in how well his efforts had paid off.

Gaara paused his delicate watering and looked up at the green bottom facing him. "Hm?"

"There are so many in here - how do you remember all of their names?" Lee repeated.

 _Their names…_

"I remember the species… most are in the same genus. It's important to remember what kind they are so I know how much water and sunlight they need. It's my job to remember, otherwise they won't flourish," Gaara answered.

Lee had stood straight again to give Gaara his full attention, and smiled fondly at the answer.

"You're very dedicated to your craft."

Gaara suddenly felt hot. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"I must have misunderstood when Kankuro said these were like children to you," Lee said, turning and gazing out at the rows of cacti next to him. "I thought he meant that you had named each of them individually - as you would a child."

 _Oh…_

Lee faced him again and closed his eyes bashfully. "I suppose you might also want to save the names you really love for your future babies."

Truthfully, the idea to name the cacti had simply not occurred to Gaara. They were certainly extremely precious to him, and Kankuro was not the only person to liken them to offspring.

But saving a name he liked for a child…

His thoughtful pause must have read as something negative to Lee, because he quickly blinked and appeared flustered.

"Gaara, I'm sorry if I said something out of line - it's fine that you haven't named them, I'm sure you still love them like you would a baby-"

"Shinki," Gaara interrupted.

Lee raised his trademark brows. "Shinki?" he repeated.

"It's the only name I've ever…"

He wasn't sure how to finish that thought. It was a nice name - more than nice, it was a great name. Gaara thought his future son might like to have it.

But he also didn't know if he'd have a son, or even a daughter. Children of any sort were a huge question mark that seemed more and more unlikely as time went on. Gaara wasn't even sure if he wanted them. With the childhood he'd endured, and the scars his father and Yashamaru left, there seemed statistically too great a chance that he wouldn't know how to parent and would be doomed to ruin a child's life.

They didn't deserve that.

Somewhere, some baby deserved a great name like Shinki - but they deserved a better parent to give it to them.

Gaara closed his eyes, and just as he was about to take a deep meditative breath to gather himself and prevent his thoughts from spiraling -

"Shinki," Lee said again before grinning widely. "Shinki! I love that!"

Gaara's eyes were open now, and his mouth was likely to follow suit.

"That's what you'd like to name your son?" Lee asked.

"Perhaps…if I have one," Gaara answered.

Lee positively _beamed_ at him. "Oh, you'll have one, Gaara! I can feel it in my bones." He wiggled his shoulders excitedly - as though his bones really were dancing around under his skin. "Shinki - have you thought about a name for a daughter?"

"Yodo," Gaara said before he could even stop to overthink it.

"YODO!" Lee screamed. "I love that! So beautiful - oh, a tiny little baby girl _Yodo_ \- Shinki and Yodo!"

The meditative breath that was previously interrupted was no longer necessary. Gaara felt light and warm - like laughing.

"Oh, Gaara I'm going to have to go run this energy off - Yodo!" Lee yelled again before bursting into tears. "It's so beautiful," he sobbed.

If Lee went and started running, he wouldn't stop until sundown and Gaara wasn't likely to see him again for several hours. He didn't want that. Not when he felt so warm…

"Do you know what you'd like to name your son?" Gaara asked, placing the cacti in his hands back down on the table where it usually slept.

Through his tears, Lee nodded. He wiped his face in the crook of his elbow and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Metal."

Without any explanation as to why, Gaara found himself smiling at that. "Metal," he repeated, just as Lee had to his choice. "That's a strong name."

Lee nodded and wiped away more tears. "I want to bless him with strength from his birth, so that no matter what happens - even if he's like me and can't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu - he will know that he's strong."

 _Lee…_

"Any child of yours is bound to be strong," Gaara murmured.

Lee's large, dark eyes were watery, and when he turned them to Gaara and smiled the Kazekage felt compelled to hug him.

It was an odd compulsion.

"Thank you, Gaara. I know your children will also be strong and powerful," Lee said.

The sincerity of his words was like a warm caress to Gaara's self-deprecating heart.

"What about a daughter?" Gaara asked, just as Lee had of him.

Lee wiped his eyes again and thought about it.

"...Metal…"

"For your daughter?"

Whatever spot on the floor Lee was staring at must have lost its ability to help him remember the 'why' of his Lee-isms and he fixed his intense focus directly on Gaara.

"I suppose it is better suited for a little boy…" he started. "I once had a dream that I had a baby and named it Metal, and I was so happy when I woke up."

"That sounds like a lovely dream," Gaara commented quietly.

Lee nodded. "It was! But in the dream, it was my first-born, and that is the baby I want to give that name to."

A tiny baby boy named Metal… Gaara pictured a smaller version of Lee, with thick eyebrows and chubby baby cheeks.

The image was crystal-clear.

"Araya," Lee said suddenly.

Gaara waited for Lee to explain himself.

"I like Araya too - that could be for a boy or a girl!" Lee continued, happily as he wiped his face again and chased off his sobs with a determined grin.

 _Metal, Shinki, Yodo, and Araya…_

Gaara pictured these babies, and for reasons he could not properly explain his imagination provided a mix of his features and Lee's.

He had no idea Lee pictured the same thing.

oooooo

A/N: Thank you for reading! See you soon ^^


	2. Bloom

A/N: This fic was supposed to be for a GaaLee fest last summer, but as I mentioned in the notes before the last chapter of Mirotic - things sort of exploded for me. Now that I have the mental clarity and energy to write again I am happy to be revisiting this story.

oooooo

Gaara never forgot that conversation. At the time, he and Lee were just friends. That was still an important bond, particularly to Gaara as his list of friends was not terribly long, but the talk was not peppered with the expectation of sharing the babies those names belonged to.

That was one year ago.

Now, back in the same greenhouse, on a quiet night in October that brought a nice breeze through the dunes of Suna, Gaara and Lee found themselves lying next to each other with nothing but a blanket between them and the floor.

They were tucked between the rows of Gaara's cacti, hidden from view to anyone who might be walking by, and had each taken off their coat and Jonin vest, respectively, to rest their heads on.

Some of the plants Gaara was tending to needed a heat lamp, as the desert climate meant chillier evenings. However, since the days were still hot and miserable, Gaara didn't want to make the entire greenhouse uninhabitable for himself or the rest of the plant babies. The clever solution he came to was to place the lamps underneath one of his existing tables, and place his new plants in soil resting right on the ground. For the first few nights, he wanted to keep an eye on them and see if the lamps were negatively impacting growth.

Since Lee was only in Suna for a few days, the pair wanted to capitalize on their alone time together - and it so happened that for this trip that entailed lying on the floor of a greenhouse watching plants.

They were quickly coming up on almost eight months of being 'together'. Lee called it a relationship, and Gaara countered that they already _had_ a relationship as friends. Rather than getting caught up in semantics, Gaara decided to just follow Lee's lead, and refer to this newfound romantic partnership as a relationship. It was similar to friendship, in that they still cared about each other as people and enjoyed spending time together.

Time was a big indicator that something had changed, as they now devoted a lot more of it to each other. Lee was also very conscious to make sure they didn't go too long without seeing each other, or spending alone time together - even if that time included nothing more than talking, something they could do while far apart. The difference was the presence of one another, the physical bonding that came from occupying the same space. With that proximity came the other big difference in a relationship from just being friends:

 _Intimacy._

In these eight months, they had certainly grown closer and explored each other in ways they had not previously. But whether it was how a long-distance relationship inevitably meant that they were more likely to take things slowly since they didn't get to become as comfortable with each other as quickly as couples who saw one another every day do, or because of who they were as people - with the ever respectful, and insecure about the vulnerability of sharing his body with someone Lee, and Gaara as the emotionally stunted and completely unused to physical contact person he was - they hadn't made love yet.

The _yet_ was so big, too. Every time they spoke now, and learned more about each other as they grew closer and strengthened their bond, Gaara felt an intimacy blossoming. Lee knew things about him that he'd never shared with anyone else, including his siblings. When he talked to Lee, and shared his hopes for the future - both personally, and for his village - he felt optimistic. Lee had a way of cheering him on so confidently that Gaara couldn't help but be swept away by the certainty of Lee's positivity.

It made him feel stronger, and more capable of achieving his goals. Lee would call on all the strengths and talents he saw in his partner, and enthusiastically chirp about how they would guide Gaara to success and moving forward. But beyond what Lee believed Gaara already had inside himself, Lee also acted as a pillar of support and strength.

The more time went on, the more Gaara felt the safety and security from it.

Their growing closeness as friends and partners endeared them to one another, but there was also another element of this newfound relationship that fueled their desire for more time together: their incredible attraction to one another.

For all the failings of understanding subtleties or feelings of others that Gaara thought he had - recognizing physical attraction for what it was certainly made the list.

But the first time their fingers brushed as they both reached for chopsticks while having dinner alone together - before they even called it dating - Gaara's heart felt like a drum in his chest.

He wanted more contact with Lee.

This remained the case with every new intimate step they took: the first time they held hands, their first kiss, the first time their tongues were in each other's mouths - Gaara wanted _more_.

When Lee would go back to Konoha, or Gaara would leave from Konoha back to Suna, he would ache. Physically _ache_ being away from Lee.

Their kisses and touches were as draining as they were fueling. They made Gaara feel so good and so happy - but his desire for Lee grew as well.

Hormones and aches or no, in their eight months together they had only ever kissed - peppered with some good, wholesome over-the-clothes petting from the waist up.

Lee loved putting his hands on Gaara's waist while they kissed, and Gaara could squeeze Lee's biceps all day if they didn't have _jobs_. Any time their hands would begin to trail toward fabric-covered nipples they moved slowly, to give the other a chance to smack them away. Instead though, they'd find themselves scooching closer, pushing their chests toward each other. Silently saying ' _For the love of god - touch me'._

But they'd never slipped their hands underneath and massaged bare skin. For Lee, that would be difficult to accomplish without getting him mostly naked.

Jumpsuits are not conducive for maximum fooling around potential.

The thought was starting to make him warm, although he could always lie to himself and blame it on the heat lamp - or the snuggly Lee behind him.

Gaara rolled onto his back, dislodging Lee's spoon-hold, and looked at his boyfriend.

Lee smiled at him and enthusiastically rubbed the arm Gaara had just been lying on. "The lamp has made you so warm!" he remarked.

 _You have no idea._

But since it was too late to stop the warmth, and looking at Lee wasn't going to cool him off…

Gaara reached up and gingerly cupped the back of Lee's neck so the edges of his fingers were grazing Lee's soft hair.

Lee paused his rubs and squeezed Gaara's arm. "You look very handsome."

" _You_ look very handsome, Lee," Gaara answered before pulling on Lee's neck to draw that fool in for a kiss.

It was downright stupid how soft Lee's lips were. It bordered on rude, because how on earth was Gaara supposed to focus on being Kazekage when he knew what it felt like to kiss Lee?

Lee shifted his weight so he was lying more on Gaara's side and leaned in further to commit himself more fully to their kiss.

The dangerous part of their kissing was that they also knew any activity that included their genitals would probably be preceded by kissing. Each time they kissed they couldn't be sure if this would be _the_ time.

Gaara wondered about this as he continued to lick into Lee's mouth. He wondered if Lee was thinking about the same thing as he guided his boyfriend to straddle his waist so that he could hold Lee's hips more securely.

Their grinding was so chaste, almost nonexistent. It was so slight it could have been blamed on the very movement of the kissing. It would have been completely imperceptible if not for the noises Lee made to accompany it.

The noises were even more dangerous than the kissing.

They were so dangerous, in fact, that they pulled Gaara to sit up from his lying position and guided his hands to the zipper on the back of Lee's jumpsuit. There was no thought to it, it was all instinct.

True to the consenting habit they had developed, Gaara unzipped only a little, then took his head back to look Lee in the eyes and ask for permission to continue stripping him.

"Anyone could walk in," Lee said, looking over his shoulder as though this worry had summoned someone.

Gaara kept his eyes on Lee. "Then we can cover you with my robe," he replied.

Lee whipped his head back and turned his enormous eyes to his boyfriend. "Cover me? You want me to be naked?"

 _Lee -_

"Of course I want you to be naked."

A thousand emotions seemed to pass over Lee's face. A few seconds later the winning one was determination.

"Okay, Gaara" he whispered. "Please keep an eye on the door."

The Jonin vest was already off, so Lee reached straight back to begin unzipping his tights, effectively doing Gaara's job for him.

 _Well not right this second-_

"Wait-" Gaara said, holding out his hand to stop Lee's movements. "We can take our time," he explained, turning his palm up to ask for Lee's hand.

Lee blinked and brought his arm down to lay his hand on Gaara's, looking unsure of what he'd done wrong.

"Come here," Gaara murmured, reaching up with his other hand to cup Lee's check so he could pull his boyfriend in for a kiss.

He watched Lee's eyes slip shut as they leaned forward and pressed their lips together.

Better to start with kisses. Kissing was good - _so_ good, and it would help Lee relax. It would help them both relax.

Gaara closed his eyes, and momentarily forgot Lee asking him to be vigilant about the door as he licked at Lee's bottom lip.

 _Lee_ …

But the kissing quickly turned tense. Gaara felt Lee's body stiffen and become less engaged in their activities within minutes of making his request.

This was the opposite of what Gaara wanted. Consent was everything - comfort was everything. If Lee didn't know how to speak up and demand that boundary for himself then Gaara would help him.

He pulled his head away once more and cupped Lee's cheek, regarding him with a serious expression.

Lee was breathing so heavily it was nearly a shudder.

"You don't have to get naked, Lee," Gaara reassured, meaning it completely. The atmosphere was romantic and he was certain Lee could see the tent his crotch was making, but nothing was worth making Lee feel uncomfortable or unsafe. They could take all the time they needed.

He watched the wheels turning behind Lee's eyes as his boyfriend silently came to a decision.

"I'll leave my underwear on," he said firmly.

Gaara nodded. "Would you like for me to leave mine on as well?"

Lee's eyes grew three sizes and he stared at Gaara like an owl. His grip on Gaara's arms suddenly became vice-like. "Are you ready to take them off?" he asked without moving.

Truthfully he was. Gaara had no reservations about Lee seeing him naked, there was too much trust here, and Lee was the mostly genuinely loving person he knew. There was no need to worry about being embarrassed when he was confident that Lee would be happy with the intimacy of Gaara sharing his body.

"I am."

There was a moment of silence, with Lee just breathing heavily and staring into Gaara's eyes, and then Lee whispered:

" _Take them off_."

The words sent a shiver down Gaara's spine.

Lee didn't look like he had the patience Gaara previously employed when it came to disrobing his partner. He wanted Gaara naked _now_.

The Kazekage was not a man who liked to disappoint.

Guided by the hunger in Lee's eyes, and comforted by the warmth of the space, Gaara began to strip. All the while his eyes never left Lee's, and he smiled at the reverence and awe he saw there.

By the time he was down to only his underwear he paused. "Are you sure?" he asked, fairly certain of the answer from the look on Lee's face.

Lee couldn't speak. He just nodded slowly with his lips parted as he stared at the last part of Gaara to be bare.

Consent was everything.

"Gaara…" Lee breathed as his gaze raked in the sight before him.

It was lust, yes. But it was so much more.

Lee climbed back onto his lap to resume their kissing, and let his hands roam freely over this newly bared flesh.

It felt so good to have Lee touch him. To have fingertips lightly making waves on the outsides of his thighs; to have fingernails carving rivets into the space just above his hips. He wanted to give Lee this same joy.

Gaara reached behind his boyfriend to finish what a Lee had started and slowly unzipped his suit.

Without breaking their kiss, Lee shifted so he could pull his bandages off and then slip his arms out. They had to part to get Lee's legs out so Gaara paused his work and enjoyed the new skin he had to caress.

Lee was so warm. So, so warm. Every inch of him felt incredible - heated. Gaara was greedy with his touches, moving his hands all over while Lee did the same. They couldn't get enough of each other.

Some small voice in the back of Gaara's mind told him that this was enough - that this was so much, and so new for them, that it was ok to stop here and just enjoy their kisses and touches.

Lee made no move to pull his suit off the rest of the way, seemingly content with his level of undress, and Gaara respected it.

They stayed like that for the rest of the evening: kissing and touching.

The closest they came to moving further happened when Lee's fingers gently grazed along Gaara's inner thigh. It made his cock twitch so harshly that it nearly touched Lee's hand. But Lee pulled his hand back up and placed it back in his favorite spot on Gaara's waist.

They returned to the greenhouse a few weeks later, and wined by the heat of those same lamps, they put their hands in between each other's legs for the first time.

Much like the cacti they laid beside, their relationship rooted and bloomed.

oooooo

A/N: Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
